MANILA, Philippines — The easing or scrapping of quarantine classifications in the country and leaving the decisions to local officials is a “long term goal” of the national government, but is not likely to happen anytime soon, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the move is already being discussed and studied but will not happen “immediately.”
“It’s a long term goal. That’s not going to happen now or in the next month. Ito ay siguro masasabi natin na pinag-uusapan namin ‘yan,” she said in an online forum.
(We can say that it is being discussed already.)
She said there should still be safeguards should the local government units be allowed to manage quarantine protocols in their localities to avoid the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
The DOH made the remark after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the national government is eyeing to do away with quarantine classifications so local chief executives should be ready with their own COVID-19 response measures.
Since the pandemic started in March 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte has been regularly announcing quarantine classifications of provinces based on their COVID-19 situation.